CHARLES WILSON

Sweet & Sour Blues

Blues Critic Records

By James Porter

Chicago-born Charles Wilson has been on the fringes of the soul-blues scene for some time now, apprenticing with the likes of Bobby Rush, Z.Z. Hill, Otis Clay, Tyrone Davis and Bobby Bland. It helps that he also has this genre in his DNA; his uncle was singer-guitarist Little Milton. Since 1991 he has recorded for a variety of labels, including Ichiban, Ecko, Severn, and Chicago's own Delmark. His newest album, Sweet & Sour Blues, is produced by Travis Haddix, who has a legacy in the field also, as a recording artist, singer/songwriter and guitarist.

Like several southern-soul singers, Charles has kept one foot in soul and the other in blues his entire career. This time around, he has chosen to keep all ten toes on the blues side of the fence. Just about every song here is a standard slow or shuffle blues, in the 12-bar pattern. Someone like a Lurrie Bell could work in that structure all night and transcend the limitations. With a soul-inclined vocalist like Wilson, it feels like only half the story is being told. However, he is enough of a dynamic singer that he can make the most of what he has to work with. His high range is youthful without sounding inexperienced, delivering ironic lyrics with an expressive wink (even referring to himself in the third person to really get his point across).

Musically, there is nothing here the average blues fan hasn't heard before, but this record makes up for it via inventive horn arrangements and clever song lyrics (all written by Haddix). On occasion, the songs take an interesting twist; you see the title "Six Women In My Life" and expect another tale of cheating (or bigamy), but it turns out to be about his family, including his wife. "Dinner With The Devil" has you expecting another tale similar to Robert Johnson selling his soul at the crossroads, but it turns out that the only thing hellish here is his lady's cooking. For the most part, there is a strain of humor that runs through these numbers without turning them into total novelties. Wilson sticks to the blues script with admirable discipline. Even though the production tends to sound like a basement demo, credit is due to Haddix for using real horns that didn't come from a synthesizer.

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